Luxury Travel Advisor - November 2007 - (Page 16) Gde Kerthyasa or tea-leaf reader Lindel Barker-Revell. The Observatory was one of the first luxury hotels to incorporate a spa, in 1993. Its 66-foot sparkling swimming pool is canopied by a spectacular ceiling “lit” with Southern Hemisphere constellations. Ask Spa Director Jodi Chin (jchin@ observatory.com.au; 61-2-82485250) about the Caviar Firming Facial, Chocolate Therapy Body Wrap or Vanilla Oil Massage. She’ll recommend from the La Prairie the property was the residence of Sir Frederick Darley, sixth Chief Justice of New South Wales, and is named for his daughter. At Lilianfels, which is run by General Manager Robyn Pontynen (rpontynen@lilianfels.com.au), guests choose from 85 boutique deluxe rooms decorated in pink, green or lilac with organza and silk. Four suites are available; we like “Mini Mini Saddle” and “Cloudmaker,” both of which overlook the breathtakingly steep Jamison Valley. a moonlight walk through the local rainforest with an expert eco-guide, during which guests might spy furry possums in the trees. Darley’s restaurant, in a separate building, was the original family home and is accented with English hunt prints, stained glass, ornate crystal chandeliers, fireplaces and candlelit mantles; it oozes Australia’s Victorian Age. A fitting home for the perennial celebration of fresh regional produce incorporated into Modern Australian cuisine, the LILIANFELS’ offers 45 Deluxe Rooms (shown here), which look out over the English-style gardens or the mountains of the Jamison Valley. line and, now, exclusive to the spa, the one-of-a-kind 42-step Payot facial, administered by in-demand therapist Malthi Mani. For a real change of scenery, suggest your clients make the 90-minute drive from Sydney to the World-Heritage-listed Blue Mountains, where they’ll find The Observatory Hotel’s sister property, the aptly named Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa (www. lilianfels.com.au). Both elegant facilities are part of Orient-Express Hotels, Trains & Cruises, and Lilianfels is the only five-star offering near the town of Katoomba. For 40 years in the 19th century, Each has its own sitting room with sofa, dining room table, antique secretaire, armoire, CD player and bathroom with spa bath. Both have an interconnecting room available for conversion to a two-bedroom suite. What we loved: A bottle of Hillfarm Spring Water in a velveteen sack, slippers and a linen mat are positioned bedside nightly, along with guests’ pajamas, neatly folded. Contact Guest Liaisons Monique Manners (mmanners@ lilianfels.com.au) or Sallyanne Weymouth (sweymouth@lilianfels. com.au) to arrange abseiling or rock climbing, a scenic clifftop cocktail party for two with private butler or restaurant’s menus are devised under the masterful direction of chef Hugh Whitehouse (hwhitehouse@ lilianfels.com.au). Ask Restaurant Manager Natalie Dale (hwhitehouse @lilianfels.com.au) to reserve the Fuchsia Room for your clients’ private feast; it seats 10 and has its own fireplace. Darley’s also offers a multicourse dining experience, during which choices may include tortellini of local goat cheese; luscious barramundi, slow-cooked in aromatic Indian spices; or tangy orange-blossom ice cream. Take our cue and advise clients to visit Lilianfels’ billiard room (they’ll want to adhere to the his- toric “Rules of the Game” poster on the wall) or the four-year-old Spa at Lilianfels. Spa Director Nik Pappas (npappas@lilianfels.com.au) will gladly direct guests to the heated indoor or outdoor pools, which are among the highest elevation levels in Australia. The spa uses Payot and Carita Paris anti-aging products and features four rooms—one for couples—along with a steamroom, sauna and whirlpool. Therapist Rebecca Dotson receives many requests, and spa regulars ask for the signature Poultice Therapy, which is delivered by two professionals and incorporates a heated muslin bag filled with lavender, rose, jasmine and ginger, as well as flowing Hawaiian Kahuna massage movements. If your clients are connoisseurs of Australian wines, they’ll want to head straight to the 1,000square-mile, European-inspired Barossa; 60 percent of Australian wine shipped to America comes from this region, which boasts more than 100 wineries. Book a stay alongside the vines—10 wineries are close by—at Peppers The Louise (www.thelouise. com.au), an hour from South Australia’s capital, Adelaide. Ten truly spacious luxury suites surround the central courtyard and are soft and contemporary in feel, with in-room fireplaces, large dual spa tubs (we loved the rubber ducks) and private outdoor showers—all the better for viewing The Southern Cross in the moonlit sky. Suites feature LCD digital flat-screen TVs and DVD players in the guest bedrooms, plus Bose Wave CD players; we thought the film selection was spectacular, too. Layouts sport Italian-marble bathrooms that have in-floor heating and roomy, walk-in, twoperson rain showers. A separate room contains a microwave, tea kettle, espresso machine, mini- 16 LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | November 2007 http://www.thelouise.com.au http://www.thelouise.com.au http://www.lilianfels.com.au http://www.lilianfels.com.au
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